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​russians Use MiG-31 Aircraft With R-37 Missiles Against Ukraine’s Aircraft, But Ukrainian Pilots Know How to Evade the Threat (Video)

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russia’s MiG-31BM aircraft / Illustrative photo of pre-war times
russia’s MiG-31BM aircraft / Illustrative photo of pre-war times

The russians work on the "Soviet rails", that is why their missiles go missing the target

The Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published a video interview with Major, pilot Vadym Voroshilov, who has the call sign Karaya. This pilot shot down five Shahed-136 kamikaze drones on October 12, 2022 in his MiG-29, and after the fighter was heavily damaged and lost control, Karaya was able to steer his plane away from a populated area (as it later turned out, it was Vinnytsia ).

Major, pilot Vadym Voroshilo (call sign Karaya) shot down five Shahed-136 kamikaze drones on October 12, 2022 in his MiG-29, and after the fighter was heavily damaged and lost control, Karaya was able to steer his plane away from a populated area

Major Vadym Voroshilov was awarded the Hero of Ukraine on December 8, 2022, and an interview with him was actually prepared on the occasion.

Read more: Russians Patrol the Crimean Sky With the Su-27SM Fighters

In particular, Karaya said that during one of the sorties on September 20, 2022, Russian MiG-31 fighter jet tried to attack his MiG-29 aircraft at long range with R-37 air-to-air missiles. This can be considered the first confirmation from Ukrainian sources that the occupiers are using their MiG-31 for air-to-air combat actions in the war against Ukraine.

Russia’s MiG-31BM, Defense Express
Russia’s MiG-31BM / Illustrative photo of pre-war times

We usually talk about the MiG-31 aircraft precisely as a carrier of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile, but the basic function of this aircraft is a fighter. The Military Balance 2022 indicates that at the end of last year, the russian Aerospace Forces had 85 MiG-31BM fighters at their disposal.

The Soviet Union developed the MiG-31BM to intercept "strategic" level targets - that is, strategic bombers, "air tankers" and airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft. In Soviet times, the main weapon of the aircraft was supposed to be the R-33 missile, in 2017 the russian federation put into service the R-37M air-to-air missile. According to russian propagandists, the R-37M missile is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 400 km. But as Hero of Ukraine Major Vadim Voroshilov stated in his interview, "the range of the R-37M of 400 km exists only in the minds of the propagandists of the russian Zvezda TV channel."

Russia’s MiG-31BM, Defense Express
Russia’s MiG-31BM / Illustrative photo of pre-war times

He also confirmed that the russians quite often use the MiG-31BM aircraft with R-37M missiles against Ukraine’s combat aircraft. According to him, Ukrainian tactical aviation pilots have already learned to avoid such a threat and are doing it quite successfully, because the russians are still operating "behind the rails of Soviet schemes."

Earlier Defense Express reported that russia lost Tu-95MS in combat for the first time.

Read more: Russia’s Aviation Cannot Get Air Superiority In Ukraine Due to a Number of Factors, This Situation Is Unlikely to Change Yet – British Intelligence